CHUNG BEATS RUBLEV, ENTERS SEMIS AT NEXT GEN ATP FINALS
MILAN: South Korean Hyeon Chung became the first player to book his ticket to the semi-finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan on Wednesday.
The 54th-ranked Chung made it two wins out of two in the round robin format being used in the inaugural edition of the under-21 version of the ATP Tour finals. Chung beat Russia’s Andrey Rublev 4-0, 4-1, 4-3 (7/1) in their Group A match a day after rallying from a set down to get past Denis Shapovalov.
“The score looks easy, but it was not easy on the court. Every point was a fight,” said 21-yearold Chung who is guaranteed of finishing top of the group.
Pre-tournament favourite Rublev, ranked 37th , had won his opener against Italian wildcard Gianluigi Quinzi.
PAES-RAJA PAIR ENTERS QUARTERS, SHARAN OUT
NEW DELHI: Top seeded Indian team of Leander Paes and Purav Raja moved to the quarters of the Knoxville Challenger but Divij Sharan was ousted from the Bratislava event with his partner. Paes and Raja, , advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over American team of Kevin King and Bradley Klahn in just 55 minutes. They next face British team of Liam Broady and Marcus Willis, who advanced when their opponents -- Darian King and Michael Mmoh -retired midway into the contest due to a knee issue with Mmoh.
Sharan and his Russian partner Mikhail Elgin bowed out following a 4-7, 7-6(4), 4-10 loss to Sander Arends and Antonio Sancic in the last-eight stage. NEWDELHI: Earlier this year, Richard Hood, the Head of Player Development at the All India Football Federation, came up with the concept of ‘baby leagues’. Working alongside Savio Medeira, the Technical Director at the federation, he sought to draw from some of the best practices at the grassroots in developed football nations.
It is no secret that Indian kids are exposed to football training much later than their counterparts in some of the more illustrious countries in the sport.
This late introduction to the sport leaves a gaping hole. It is a hole that no amount of worldclass infrastructure or exposure tours, later in their careers, can fill.
With the same in mind, the concept of ‘baby league’ aims to create a competitive football